All Things Considered

Commonly referred to as "ATC" and a staple for afternoon commutes, NPR's nationally syndicated afternoon news magazine brings you closer to home with the presence of WAMU's local host.

Since May 3, 1971 All Things Considered has been produced every day from NPR's headquarters in Washington, D.C. Featuring a mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features, "ATC" produces 2 hours of fresh content every day for hundreds of public radio stations around the United States.

Elliott Francis

Local Host, All Things Considered

Francis has worked alongside some of the most influential media executives in the U.S. during his 25 years as a news anchor, including FOX News President and Chairman Roger Ailes, former CNN Executive Vice President Ed Turner, and the founder and former CEO of Johnson Publishing Company, John H. Johnson. In 2002, shortly after joining the ABC news affiliate in Washington DC (WJLA-TV) as the morning co-anchor, Francis was thrust into the rigors of live, non-stop coverage of the DC sniper shootings and investigation, sometimes speaking 8-9 hours unscripted. A skilled interviewer, Francis once convinced singer John Denver to go "on-camera" with details of his upcoming DUI trial.

Friday, September 20, 2013

The U.S. is supposed to allow everyone to come to the annual United Nations General Assembly, which opens next week. But Washington has yet to rule on the visa application by Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president who's been indicted on genocide charges by the International Criminal Court.

Leith, N.D.'s residents want to keep control of their town out of the hands of white supremacists. Craig Cobb moved to Leith last year after purchasing 12 properties and he's given most of them away to people who are notorious in the white separatist movement.

Audie Cornish speaks with our regular political commentators E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and Brookings Institution, and David Brooks of The New York Times. They discuss the House vote to defund the Affordable Care Act.

The case to dismantle Syria's chemical weapons arsenal moves to the U.N. next week. The White House says a U.N. report released this week confirms that Syria's regime used poison gas against its citizens. But Russian officials beg to differ. The dueling narratives are fueling conspiracy theories in the Middle East.

Audie Cornish speaks with Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state about the House's continuing resolution vote, and the Republican strategy behind it. McMorris Rodgers is chairwoman of the House Republican Conference.

Melissa Block has been in Rio de Janeiro all week, with stories about the upcoming 2014 World Cup, the growing middle class, the complex racial balance in Brazil and much more. She joins Audie Cornish now with some final thoughts, from way up high over the city.

Critics of the NSA's secret surveillance hoped the debate that followed Edward Snowden's leaks would prompt the NSA to rethink the operation. Instead, one of the most noticeable effects so far has been a diversion of resources away from intelligence missions toward assessing damage from the leaks.

In Chicago, a late-night shooting Thursday left 13 people wounded, including a 3-year-old boy. The city has been struggling to curtail the city's gun violence, which plagues some neighborhoods on the south and west sides. This latest incident has the Chicago Police Superintendent once again calling for tougher gun laws.

Angela Merkel is likely to win a third term in elections Sunday, but there may be a change in the makeup of her coalition government. It is possible that Merkel's main opponents, the Social Democrats, will be a major part of the coalition, and they would likely push for more stimulus measures to help struggling economies in the eurozone, rather than the austerity that Germany has demanded up until now.

For Colorado flood victims, evacuation was just the first step. Now the very long process of recovery is beginning. It will take months for some who saw their houses destroyed or severely damaged to return home. And when there's nothing left to inspect, navigating insurance companies can be an added challenge.

Congressional Republicans are trying to use budget deadlines to extract concessions from the president on his signature health care law. And they aren't alone in choosing this time to test the president's mettle — liberal Democrats have been pressuring Obama, too.

While in Brazil this week, Melissa Block has heard our local fixer Catherine Osborn use all kinds of greetings and salutations in conversations with people throughout the day. Osborn walks us through some of the customs of everyday interactions in Rio.

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